Some pieces of input data and output data for use by computer systems include a plurality of records each including data of a plurality of items. A typical example is data used by computer systems including database devices, for example. Data used by a database device is, in general, defined for each computer system including a database device. In order to transmit and receive data between computer systems which differ in data definition, processing of converting output data of one computer system into input data of the other computer system has to be performed. For this purpose, the definition of output data of one computer system has to be associated with the definition of input data of the other computer system. For example, definitions of input data formats (e.g., an input format) definitions of output data formats (e.g., an output format), and definitions of methods (mapping) of converting positions and orders are, in general, manually created.
In contrast, for example, a technique which recognizes the text format of a formatted text file including a linefeed character or a specific character, which is a technique for defining data, is known. In this technique, the text format of a text file which has been text-formatted with a header, footer, multiple columns, chart allocation, and the like on a page. More particularly, a plurality of lines are compared and the page length is estimated. A range of successive identical, specific characters, such as successive blank characters, is recognized to be a boundary between paragraphs, and a line which is not a text and for which processing is unnecessary, as in a chart region, is recognized.
There is also known a technique which, in order to convert a non-structured document into a structured document, extracts from a non-structured document a characteristic character string representing a component of a logical structure of the document used when the non-structured document is converted into a structure document. In this technique, a characteristic character string representing a component of a logical structure of non-structured document is extracted from the document, and the non-structured document is converted into a structured document by using the extracted character string.
Also, a technique in which, in order to determine an item in a document generating program, when a first character string included in a first document includes a character string related to a second character string, the second character string is determined as an item. In this technique, a text is extracted from an image of a card or the like in which a specific character is contained, and, for the extracted text, an item is determined on the basis of the specific character.
By the way, fixed-length data including a plurality of items whose data length and data type are predetermined is known as an example of data for use by a computer system including a database device. In fixed-length data, although the data length and data type of each of a plurality of items are predetermined, there is no break for each item and data is uninterrupted. Therefore, it is difficult to apply techniques which use a text or document including a linefeed character or a specific character as input data to fixed-length data. Accordingly, definition of items and the like has been made manually in order to use fixed-length data in other computer systems which differ in definition from the original computer system. That is, in order to use fixed-length data in other computer systems, the format of fixed-length data (e.g., output format) has to be manually defined.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 6-203020, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-21249, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2011-170546 are known as examples of the related art.